A happy red tri Miniature American Shepherd with blue eyes walks on a leash outdoors beside a person wearing shorts and sneakers.

Tails of Toy Aussies

CPE agility at American K9 Country: Russet, Truffle, and Peach’s June weekend

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Ashley

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American K-9 Country in Amherst, NH is not a gentle agility venue for a green dog. With two levels, a viewing and kenneling mezzanine where riled-up dogs come and go, and a wraparound mural of dogs and agility equipment covering every wall of the arena, it is a LOT to take in. Russet had been there once before; Peach, never. Truffle knows the place by now — though comfort with the facility doesn’t always mean smooth sailing, as the days proved.

A red tri miniature American shepherd with blue eyes looks through a window at an indoor agility course, featuring jumps and a painted mural with a rainbow on the far wall.

Russet: star of the car 🌟

Russet was the star of the car this weekend, my best boy! He ran like he owned the building. A border collie painted on the wall caught his eye a couple of times — hard to blame him, it was staring right at him! — but he shook it off when I asked and got back to work. Tail up, happy, confident, the whole two days. Seven qualifying runs out of eight. He was clearly thrilled to be there, working with me, and it doesn’t get much better than that.

A fluffy red Merle toy aussie dog rests his head on a clipboard with agility maps.
Teacher’s pet? Russet studied the maps.
Three toy Australian shepherds sit in the backseat of a car. Two are brown and white, one with a RUSSET harness, and the third is smaller with a blue merle coat. Sunlight streams through the car window.
Star of the clown car, I suppose!
A person and a small dog practice agility inside a building with green flooring. Various agility obstacles are set up, and a mural of a farm scene with animals and hills covers the back wall.
“MOM! They’re STARING at me!”

Truffle: a strong start, then a wall

Truffle had a more complicated weekend. She’s running in the higher classes now, so her Q count wasn’t as strong as Russet’s. There was a lot to like! She was responsive, did the weaves independently, and ran in full extension. Unfortunately, a scary moment on the teeter cracked her confidence, and she started refusing in subsequent runs. We limped (figuratively) through the rest of the trial. We’re taking a couple of months off from competition to rebuild her confidence on that obstacle before I ask her to trust it again.

Two dogs lie on a bed with white sheets; one small, fluffy, blue merle dog sits alert while a larger red tri dog sleeps with her head resting on the comforter.
A red Merle toy Australian shepherd lies on a bed covered in white blankets, wearing a vest that glows with bright pink-red light for therapeutic recovery purposes. The dog appears content and relaxed.
A red tri miniature American shepherd with blue eyes lies on a neatly made bed with white bedding and pillows, looking toward the camera.
Relaxing and recovering at the hotel

Peach: from stressed to unstoppable

Peach had an interesting weekend. It was her first time at this venue for agility, and she was stressed in the ring — understandable, given the noise and the size of the place. But up on the mezzanine, she just… settled. Chaos everywhere, dogs everywhere, and she was completely fine with it. For a young dog seeing the agility building for the first time, I call that a win!

Two small dogs on leashes rest indoors on the floor. One red tri miniature aussie dog with a pink harness lies down, while a blue Merle toy aussie dog with a purple harness sits, looking up happily as a person pets her head.
A red tri toy aussie dog wearing a pink harness labeled PEACH is lying on the floor, resting her head on a person’s feet.
Two toy Australian shepherds wearing harnesses labeled “RUSSET” and “PEACH” sit on a speckled floor, looking toward the camera. They are on leashes, with bags and chairs visible in the background.

I ended up scratching her remaining Saturday runs. Then, while walking over to FastCat to release a friend’s dog, Peach flat-out dragged us toward the track. Wanted in, badly. So I paid the day-of entry fee on the spot and let her go after the plastic bag.

And what a transformation! The pokey, stressed little dog I had in the agility building became a frothing, thrashing little monster on the start line! Her two 22mph runs were enthusiastic and JOYFUL, and — bonus!— she actually let me catch her at the finish both times. Last season I was the one doing hundred-yard dashes trying to get a leash back on her. Not this time. She let me walk her out of the catch pen with my dignity intact. The weekend ended on exactly the high note I wanted it to.

Thank you to Renee at GrooveStar Studio for these absolutely stunning photos of Peach’s happiest FastCat moments!

A red tri miniature American shepherd with blue eyes is running and leaping mid-air on a sandy path during a FastCat trial, focused intently ahead with her ears back and mouth open.
A red tri miniature American shepherd with blue eyes sprints toward the camera in a FastCat event, kicking up sand and tearing through white plastic on the ground, looking excited and focused.
A happy red tri Miniature American Shepherd with blue eyes walks on a leash outdoors beside a person wearing shorts and sneakers.
A red tri miniature American shepherd with blue eyes chases a torn white plastic bag on a sandy surface, kicking up dust as she runs intensely forward in a FastCat trial.
A red tri Mini American Shepherd with blue eyes playfully bites into a white plastic bag at a FastCat trial, kicking up sand as she dives down with an intense, focused expression.
A fluffy red tri miniature American shepherd with brown and white fur stands outdoors on an orange leash, eyes closed and tongue out, appearing to smile happily.

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